Buying in New York

[EugenS]

Do you have to be an American citizen (or a greencard owner) in order to buy in New York? What's the deal there, can anyone enlighten me?

[ShadoCat]

Originally Posted by EugenS

Do you have to be an American citizen (or a greencard owner) in order to buy in New York? What's the deal there, can anyone enlighten me?

You do not have to be a US citizen to buy property in any state in the US.

However, you need a credit report to get financing and the credit reports are based off of US Social Security Number. Even Canadians have trouble with this.

Unless you plan on paying cash, you need to have a partner who can qualify for financing or pay hard money rates.

One way around this is to start/buy a US corporation. After 2 years, the corporation will have its own credit rating and you can buy property in the name of the corp. Anyone can own a US Corp.

[mmk123]

If you want to purchase the property and you still plan on living in your native country, then I think you're allowed to do that. I'm not sure they would let you if you planned on staying in the U.S. and you weren't a legal citizen

[mandiees]

You are probably going to have a hard time purchasing property because most of US financing is based on your FICO or credit score. Since you are not from the US you will not have this score, thus lenders are going to be wary of lending to you due to your lack of credit history. I would suggest renting first, building up some credit, and then trying to buy a home, if nothing else, it will get you a better interest rate if you build up some credit.

[willyable]

You have to have a greencard (if you aren't an American) or a passport or some type of formative entrance pass to buy anything in America period. Not just New York.